Wednesday, 9 April 2014

Fiona Tarsis is a legend. Her world was ravaged by a lethal virus, her family separated. Her friends were turned into ferocious beasts by an even deadlier vaccine. Mindless monsters now raid the streets. But Fiona has survived.

Jacqui Bloom needs Fiona’s help. Two years ago, Jacqui’s brother, Dean, left the safety of his home to guide Fiona’s mother to a safe haven. He never returned. Jacqui has been hiding away in the family house, disguised as a boy, and hoping Dean will come back. But she can no longer live like this. She has to find him.

Even with the two men Fiona loves most by their side, leading Jacqui into the desert will be risky. Raiders are everywhere – they will do anything to prevent the beast-cure her group are carrying from being spread – and knowing who to trust is near impossible. Lone traveller Kevin is sexy and self-assured, and has caught Jacqui’s attention, but he is hiding his past. Is he also hiding the truth about what he really wants from them?

Last year I read STUNG and really enjoyed it, so when I received the sequel I was curious about where this story would go.

Jacqui--or Jack as everyone calls her--still lives in her family home. They've been there since they were refused entry behind the wall, after the fall of society. They have all become efficient guardians of their house and each other. Each knows how to use weapons, are fast, suspicious of everyone, and their father is a dentist. In this world being a dentist is great currency. They don't have much food or belongings, but what little Jack has she's willing to spare enough for anyone worse off than them, which she does with the homeless guy who often comes around.

Oh, and everyone thinks she's a boy because in this brutal world being a woman is dangerous and can lead to a life sentence worse than death. But Jack's brother left two years ago and never came back, and she can't wait any longer. Even though she knows she'll be walking straight into danger, she leaves the house to search for her brother. She knows she'll need help and finds it behind the wall in Fiona, Bowen and Jonah who are keen to find Fiona and Jonah's mother.

Their journey leads into a barren world, and puts them in the path of Raiders, Beasts and Sirens. And meeting a handsome stranger that feels familiar could lead to their salvation...or damnation.

I really enjoyed Jack's story. It starts out a bit slow as we get to know her and her family, but soon becomes a fast-paced race to survival. Although her intentions are good, Jack often makes stupid mistakes that make life harder for everyone. It's frustrating at times but without those mistakes, she wouldn't have met Kevin and found out the truth about a few things along the way. :)

It was also cool to catch up with Fiona, Bowen and Jonah. Their story might have been told in Stung but they now have a new mission.

Cured is an intriguing and very intense, action-packed sequel set in a dark and dangerous future world. It's addictive and hooked me in to the very end. I just had to know where Jack was going to end up, and I wasn't disappointed. Also, Kevin was a nice addition. Loved the chemistry between them.